Petrified Wood Gas Station (now a Tire Shop) - Lamar, Colorado

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Petrified Wood Gas Station (now a Tire Shop) - Lamar, Colorado

In 1932 a guy by the name of W. G. Brown was trying to figure out how to attract business to his gas station.  He wanted something different that would catch the eye (and therein the dollars) of the tourists going by on highway 287.  What he came up with still stands today, it was to build a gas station out of petrified wood.

Now, petrified wood is flame-resistant and fireproof so the building doesn’t have to worry about that.  As far as aging, well, it’s already 175 thousand years old so aging probably isn’t a problem either. 

The largest piece of wood used in the station weights in at 3,200 hundred pounds. The building walls and floors are constructed of large pieces of petrified wood too.

Traveling down the old two lane highway (Route 287) gives you the feeling that you are turning back time some 40 years or more.

"Ripley’s Believe It or Not" claims it’s the only such structure in the world.

The station became a tire store in 1962 and now is a tire store and a used car lot.  If only the cars would last as long as the building!

Address: 501 N Main St, Lamar, CO

Directions: On Main St. just as you enter from the north intersection of routes US 50 and US 287.

Admission: Free

Hours: Always visible.

Phone: 719-336-3462